Comments

Comment by samljer

Talk to KARTHOG to start the event.I spent 5mins waiting for him to pat :P

hes semi-hidden under the tree, exactly where the questlog tells you to go.

Comment by midesis

So deal here is.. Do not goto 49 x 49 and kill the one in the aliance camp .. its the wrong one.. talk to Karthog at the tree (48.5 x 58) and the General will spawn on the road on a horse with 2 level 34 triumph captains at his sides.

Comment by Sebiale

Hawthorne and Marley Twinbraid are some pretty tragic figures in S Barrens. I like what Blizz has done, makes the game much more interesting.

Comment by Tolkfan

Putting this up here as a reference. The whole conversation with Hawthorne.

Tell me what happened at Taurajo.

Ah yes, our assault on the Horde town of Taurajo. I struggled with the implications of the decision.

Taurajo was admittedly what you might call a 'soft target,' primarily a hunters' camp. Still, it had been used to recruit, equip, and train Horde infantry for many years.

When our scouts reported that Taurajo's most dangerous units were out on the hunt, we had to act quickly.

We sacked the town?

<Hawthorne wrinkles his brow.>

I would prefer not to use the term 'sacked,' but yes, the attack went off flawlessly. We removed Taurajo from the equation, confiscated its arms, and destroyed its smithing facilities. The assault gave our forces considerable breathing room and knocked the enemy off balance.

Nonetheless, during the assault, I instructed my men to leave a gap open in our lines...

Why did you do that?

Taurajo had a significant civilian population. I wanted to ensure that they could escape the fighting, and many did, finding refuge in the north.

There are some, even in Alliance High Command, who argued that I let an opportunity slip away. That I should've taken hostages. But I don't see the value in those sort of terror-tactics.

Hear me out, Aratos: I want this war to end someday. It won't ever stop if we butcher or imprison civilians.

I just pray that there are those on the other side who see things as I do.

Comment by Sahlhathes

I do feel sad for the innocent civilians that died, and the ones that escaped but were killed by the Quillboar and other things, but I'm glad that General Hawthorne isn't one of those over-zealous commanders who would've done worse things to Taurajo, like capture and torture survivors, which he very well could have. Even if innocents were killed, Hawthorne's death was depressing to me, because he wanted this war to be over. He didn't exactly seem proud about what happened to Taurajo.

Comment by kthnxbai

I feel sorry for killing this guy after I started doing quests for him on my Human Rogue. On one way, he did deserve to die, but on the other he didn't... He had no other choice to assault Taurajo and let the soldiers kill some of the civilians because he would get into trouble if he didnt, and don't forget he tryed to let some of the civilians live (which he got into trouble for).

Comment by KhazgrimWyrmrest

A famous general in the Alliance army who SPOILER ALERT dies later in the quest line.

Comment by RamirezFinder

I specifically created a WoWhead account to blurt out this minor in-game conspiracy, be gentle and run with me on this.

After completing "The Taurajo Briefs" via Ambassador Gaines, he mentions; "...What's this? A death warrant for the General here! This is good to know... Very good to know...". In relation to Hawthorne. After accepting Hawthornes final quest, to meet him at Fort Triumph, you are informed by Commander Roberts that "...he died in the field. Like some kind of dog!" (This is in fact the horde quest - "The Butcher of Taurajo")

Standing behind the Commander is Barton Trask, he mentions that if Hawthorne "Were still alive to avenge himself would have no doubt ordered a retaliatory massacre of biblical proportions." - the Commander agreeing - "You are quite right, Trask."

This is not what the General would have wanted. His death is an excuse for war.

From this we can see that 3 out of 4 high ranking Alliance military officials would rather continue war with the Horde, than try to find some kind of peace, so why is it that so many people want to see the war continue? The beginning of Cataclysm would have us believe that resources are vital, insinuating that supplying a war effort at this particular time is difficult. A good example of this is the deeper pushing of Horde infantry into the Night Elf lands of Ashenvale to secure its lumber.

Furthermore, these men aren't acting with the same mind and heart, the basis of any army! They're supposed to be working with each other not hamper each others efforts upon personal opinion. As we know, the General should have been informed of the attempt and security tightened. (In theory putting off any assassination attempt) But lets not forget, at the top of the chain, King Varian - he's smarter than this. His anti-Horde past aside, he wouldn't want one of his top generals meeting such a miserly end, nor would he hire such incompetent military staff.

So with this in mind, surely someone (or something), is pulling on some king of string?